Premature Decidual Senescence and Preterm Birth

Abstract: Preterm birth accounts for 5% to 18% of pregnancies worldwide and is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Each year， about 15 million preterm neonates are born and over 1 million neonatal deaths happen. Although several risk factors were found to contribute to this disorder， the mechanisms underling preterm birth are still not well understood and the effective prevention and treatment are not quite available. Cellular senescence is implicated in several biological processes. Recent studies suggest that decidual senescence may determine the timing of birth， and the premature decidual senescence may be the common cause of preterm birth. In this paper，we summarize the current understanding of cellular senescence and review advances relevant to the relationship between preterm birth and decidual senescence.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2015.07.0012